$1137.81 to spend on some new gear...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Neeps
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Neeps

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This thread began on the MP3 mixing clinic forum but I thought I should move it over here cos I started talking about mics...

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I'm still looking for specific recording tips for the guitar and mandola...

Hell lets throw it open... I've got £600 to spend on some new gear (roughly 1137.81 US dollars)... Southern Road and Lay Down My Love are good examples of the kind of stuff we want to be recording...

Here's the question... what mics and mic preamps should I go for to make these instruments - acoustic guitar, mandola and vocal - sound as good as they can? and no I can't go overbudget £600 is a ridiculus amount for me to be spending on mics already... well okay £700 ($1326.15) absolute max and not a penny (cent) more...

Here's my gear so far -

3.2 Ghz Intel pc
1024 gigs ram
EWS 88 MT 8 in 8 out soundcard
Cubase sx 2.2.0
Behringer UB2442FX mixer 16 ins 8 outs
4 x M-Audio AudioBuddies (two input mic pre amps)
1 x AKG C3000B LDC
1 x Shure SM58
1 x Samson C01 (cheapo, allegedly noisy)

The catch is that I also need to get monitor speakers from that bundle of cash as well... like really need to as I'm never spending another penny on recording gear after this...

I've been listening to the LD mics auditioned at this site - http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/session5.htm

Now i know that's not my guitar but if I were to pick a favorite from that line up it would be the SE Electronics Z5600... I love the warmth and clarity...

but that can't happen cos they cost £399 ($755.91) and most of my budget would be blown already... so I'd settle for the Red5 Audio RV15... it comes in at £220($416.79), nearly half the price and to my ears sounds ok... any opinions on whether this would suit my vocal?

then I'm thinking maybe £200 ($378.90) (or cheaper) for the monitor speakers...

can I get a tube pre amp as well please?

ohh and do I need a pair of SD mics as well for stereo recording the acoustic?

or could I get away with using the Red5 RV15 alongside the AKG C3000b or is that stupid?

damn! damn! this isn't going to work is it...

remember everything other than the sampled piano and fiddle (and bass) was recorded using the C3000B.... so lets see who can stretch their ears far enough to reverse-imagine the actual sound of my voice and instruments and come up with the right mic to suit my tone...

okay so maybe your ears don't stretch that far but any ideas would be really really appreciated... who's gonna take this on?
 
Maybe a used Rode NTK or Blue Baby Bottle paired with a used Grace 101 preamp. If you're shrewd, you can get the NTK or the Baby Bottle for around $300 on Ebay, and you could probably score the Grace for $500. Leaving you between $300-$400 for monitors, depending on how things work out. Good luck.
 
EleKtriKaz said:
Maybe a used Rode NTK or Blue Baby Bottle paired with a used Grace 101 preamp. If you're shrewd, you can get the NTK or the Baby Bottle for around $300 on Ebay, and you could probably score the Grace for $500. Leaving you between $300-$400 for monitors, depending on how things work out. Good luck.

So monitors aside EleKtriKaz thinks I should put all my money into one mic and one preamp... who agrees with this?... and who agrees with his recomendations?... what about stereo recording?

I listened again and I honestly couldn't choose between the Rode NTK and the Red5 RV15... The Rode is £280 new and the Red5 is £220... to my ears they sounded very similar... but still not as nice as the SE Z5600.

Come on... how would you spend it for me?
 
Monitors, monitors, monitors. You can get set up with a good monitor chain for around $300 bucks. After that, I would personally recommend going with some of the basics as far as mics go--SM57, MXL990/991, maybe even some Behringer ECM8000's (hey, 40 bucks for a useable mic is never a bad idea), Oktava MK-319...you get the idea. I wish I could personally recommend the M-Audio DMP-3 as your next step in preamps, but I haven't gotten around to buying one yet. That's the next step for me as well.
 
get a pair of shure ksm 109s for your mics and maybe a rode NT1 or NT1000. i found a great deal on an Audio Technica AT44 on ebay which is amazing on everything, multi pattern is a must. otherwise get a 57. good cheap mics are used electro voice RE11s ore RE15/16/18s they can get ridiculously cheap on ebay and for close micking they sound incredible. warm. you don't need a condenser. rather than buy cheap tube pres buy a good solid state pre. that said. the ART pro channel sounds great for about $300. for what you're doing the KSMs and an RE11(or 57) or two should do it for mics. think about the minimum amount of mics you need and then buy the best, most versatile stuff you can. beyer ribbons are a good deal too. don't skimp on the pre amp. good luck. for monitors get some tannoy reveals for pretty cheap (passive if you have an amp).
 
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